They came. They saw. They bought every condo in a New Westminster concrete tower in 42 minutes. That was the "crazy" scene Saturday November 26 as buyers crowded into the sales office of the 258 condo project, which the marketing firm claimed offered the lowest priced new concrete condos in B.C.

Two bedroom suites, measuring about 680 square feet, were priced at $238,900, while bachelor suites were listed from $209,000, according to Bill Morrison of Pilothouse Real Estate Marketing. Morrison forecast the homes would sell out in 45 minutes because he had 300 qualified buyers lined up for the noon opening. All 75 suites sold even faster. The building will complete late in 2012. 

"It was crazy," said marketing assistant Jenn Currie, "people were yelling 'I want number 301. I want number 202.' " Many of the buyers were aged in their 20s and 30s, Morrison said, with a scattering of investors among those who planned to live in the Sixth Street tower in uptown New Westminster. Most of the buyers were from the New Westminster area, Morrisson said. 

The sales success echoes others lately in suburban markets of Metro Vancouver, and the underlying characteristic appears to be low prices. Recently Morningside Homes, a division of Polygon, sold out 14 new detached houses in Coquitlam within hours of a sales opening. The houses were priced from $600,000, considered a bargain in Metro Vancouver where the average new detached house price is close to $1.1 million.